Website to create fake pay stubs discovered

A New Mexico probation officer is being credited with discovering a website that allows people to lie about where they work. The discovery could protect you, too.

It all starts with a pay stub--they tell you how much you made and where your taxes went.

They are also a big part of life for people on probation because it proves that they work. But there are ways to cheat, and cheaters always find them.

"He had actually found a website where he was able to generate a paycheck stub," said Rose Bobchak, DOC director of probation and parole.

A man on probation brought a regular-enough looking pay stub to a meeting with his probation officer on Tuesday.

The officer looked it over, and things didn't add up. After some interrogation, the man admitted it was a fake.

He had generated it on a website that KOB Eyewitness News 4 has decided not to name.

With a few clicks through the site, anyone can make a pay stub for anyone with any company name.

After entering an hourly rate, the website calculates taxes.

The final product is convincing, but not convincing enough.

"We try to make sure we're up to date on current trends, especially technology," Bobchak said.

Bobchak says the fake stub led the officer directly to the site.

But websites like the one discovered Tuesday aren't only a concern for departments like Probation and Parole. Bobchak says fake pay stubs could be used to get out of paying for child support or to fraudulently qualify for food stamps.

The discovery was a win for her department, but Bobchak wants the word out so other departments are scrutinizing those pay stubs as well.